a conflict lasting four years (1861–1865) in the United
States between eleven Southern
states, which
asserted their
right to withdraw from the United
States, and the
states and territories of the
North, which were determined to maintain the
Union. The contributing causes included the question of
slavery in the
South and the extension of it into new territories, as well as sectional rivalry. When the
war ended the defeated
South was a ruined land.
—SHSBC Binder 25 Approved Glossary